


Like Glitter and Gold

by doylesmom



Series: Sweet Burn [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, F/M, Guns, Hostage Situations, Kidnapping, Mafia AU, Minor Angst, Teasing, Vaginal Fingering, claudeleth NSFW week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:07:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22119889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doylesmom/pseuds/doylesmom
Summary: Her former students, her current friend, her precious Golden Deer, doing what they did best- dazzling, distracting, carving a path to victory for herself and Claude.And a single, green haired man sitting at Ignatz’s table.“It’s time.” Byleth whispered to Claude as they made one final turn around the floor. He nodded, mask slipping into place as they left the floor, the band still singing away in the background.Part Two of the Sweet Burn series
Relationships: Flayn/Ignatz Victor, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Sweet Burn [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587358
Comments: 41
Kudos: 141





	Like Glitter and Gold

**Author's Note:**

> WOWZA OK
> 
> Yall really liked part one of the mafia au, so of course I had to give yall a part two
> 
> This one's a little more plot heavy and less smut-y, but I hope yall enjoy it nonetheless!
> 
> I'd like to give a special thanks to Robin for constantly letting me scream at her about this story, and to the Claudeleth server that I am a member of for tossing me ideas for the sexier scenes. Hope yall enjoy!

It all started with a girl, as was par for the course in this ongoing gang war mayhem. The difference, this time, was that said girl didn’t belong to any of the gangs, which of course made everything that much more convoluted.

“Really, Ignatz? Of all of the girls in the city, you just had to go for the commissioner’s daughter.” Claude groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he processed the situation at hand. The rest of their leadership shifted nervously in the room, looking amongst themselves in concern.

“I didn’t know she was the commissioner’s daughter!” Ignatz protested weakly, his face pale and drawn. “She was just the nice girl I met at the museum!”

“And now, thanks to you, she’s a hostage in a three way gang war.” Hilda said, popping a bright read sucker into her mouth. “And honestly, how did you not figure out sooner who she was? It’s not like there’s a lot of lettuce heads in the city.”

Ignatz whimpered and buried his face in his hands. Byleth resisted the urge to sigh from her usual spot standing behind Claude.

“So,” she said, derailing the conversation before anyone else could jump on the poor kid, “What do we do now?”

Silence rang through the room as the best and the brightest of the Golden Deer tried to puzzle out a solution to the conundrum before them.

“Actually,” Claude said, leaning back in his chair to survey his inner circle, “I have an idea.”

\----

Fodlan’s Locket was the most exclusive casino in the city of Garreg Mach. Located in a renovated warehouse at the edge of the city, the outside of the building exuded a chic old charm, with its stone and brick columned exterior and stained glass windows. But the inside was all high class luxury, with gilded chandeliers and an obscene amount of velvet furniture. Byleth’s heels clicked against the marble floors in steady time, her pace never faltering as she walked, just slightly off tempo to the thumping music from the main floor. The armed guards at the door she stopped in front of saluted in greeting as she passed through and into the office in the back of the building.

“Lady Byleth, stunning as ever.” Came a purring voice from behind the large mahogany desk. Holst Goneril trailed his eyes lazily over her form as she shut the door behind her. “Is that an Oscar de la Renta dress, darling?”

Byleth took a seat in one of the leather chairs facing the desk, smoothing out the gold printed skirt as she made herself comfortable. She motioned for him to pour her a drink, and he obliged, pouring her two fingers of whiskey from the glass decanter that sat on his desk. She took a long, slow sip before responding.

“Your eye is impeccable as always, Holst.” She told him. “How’s your father?”

“Awful as ever.” Holst shrugged, pouring his own drink. “So tell me, what brings the illustrious Ashen Demon to my establishment tonight?”

“The boss needs the floor tonight for a business meeting.” She told him. “And the office for some one on ones, before and after.”

“Will my dearest baby sister be joining us?” Holst asked, a sparkle in his eye. Byleth nodded, and Holst grinned, pushing himself out of his seat.

“Well, give the boss my greetings, then. I’m off to go prepare the floor. His usual specifications, I presume?” Byleth nodded once more, and Holst strode out of the room, humming a cheerful tune. She waited, one minute, two minutes, three, before the door opened again.

“I knew that dress would look stunning on you, my love.” Came the warm, sonorous voice of Claude as he walked in, making his way to the chair where Holst had been sitting just a little while before. Byleth put down her now empty glass and crossed over to where Claude was, sitting herself on the desk in front of him.

“I missed you.” She told him, simple and honest. Claude reached for her hand, taking it in his and bringing it to his mouth, pressing a light, gentle kiss to each of her knuckles before looking up at her from under his thick, dark brows. He was devastatingly handsome like this, dressed in all black, hair tousled the way he knew that she liked. His golden earrings gleamed in the low light of the office as he tilted his head to press a kiss to her wrist.

“It’s only been a day, my love,” he said, his voice low and teasing. “Surely you couldn’t have missed me that badly.” Byleth hummed and slid off of the desk, leaning over Claude as he sat back in the leather arm chair. She climbed onto his lap, straddling him as she skimmed her nose along his neck, taking a deep breath at the spot where his jaw met his neck. He smelled like her favorite cologne, spicy and warm.

“I think” she murmured, her lips barely touching his skin, “You’ll find that I missed you quite a lot, actually.” He shivered at the almost-brushes of skin against skin, his palms sliding down her waist to rest on her thighs, giving them a firm squeeze through the material of her dress.

“Oh yeah?” He asked breathlessly, his voice catching as Byleth trailed her mouth up to his earlobe, her tongue playing with his golden earrings.

“Mhm.” She whispered into his ear. “Remember that package that we ordered? It arrived at my apartment last night.”

“The one with the-”

“The one with the handcuffs, yeah.” She purred, moving back to settle more fully on his lap. Claude groaned and leaned his head back against the chair.

“You’re evil, did you know that?” He told her, moving his hands up to cup her face. He brushed a gentle, barely there kiss against her lips. Byleth leaned forward to chase after him when a knock sounded at the door.

“Boss, it’s time.” Raphael’s voice sounded through the door. Byleth paused, her lips a hair's breadth away from Claude’s, before sighing and climbing off of his lap. He pouted as she put some distance between them, straightening out her dress and double checking that her hair remained in place. As Claude fixed himself, Byleth pulled out her phone and shot off two texts. She strode over to the door as Claude’s phone chimed.

“I wouldn’t open that yet if I were you.” She told him over her shoulder before pushing the doors to the office open, nodding a greeting to Raphael as she made her way back down the hall.

If the whimper that Claude let out after her statement happened to put an extra bounce in her step on her way out then, well, that was nobody’s business but her own.

\----

The casino floor was packed to the brim with the wealthy elite of Garreg Mach. Smooth jazz flowed from the live band tucked away in the far corner, the speaker system carrying the melody across the entire floor, mixing with the ringing of the slot machines and the clacking of dice and chips as the most fortunate gambled away their fortunes.

Claude led her out onto the dance floor in front of the stage, his hand resting warmly against her waist as they swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the music. It wasn’t an intimate dance. They stood far enough apart not to touch, not looking too long at each other. Just an employee dancing with her boss.

As they spun in place amongst the other couples taking a break, Byleth took stock of their surroundings. Two main entrances and exits, twenty stained glass windows, four secret passageways, three employee entrances, doors to two different kitchen, forty some security guards- all from the Goneril’s private security force- lining the walls and patrolling the floor. Raphael in an all-black tux by the edge of the floor, never far from Claude, especially since the last attack from the Eagles, two months prior. Lorenz, dazzling at the black jack tables in some hideous monstrosity of an extra-large, half-black half-leopard print silk shirt, his fingers gleaming with gold rings. Leonie in her black suit with the glittery golden collar, racking up strategic wins and losses at the high stakes poker table, her black sunglasses covering her face, showing nothing but a mischievous smirk. Hilda and Marianne in their matching, glittery black dresses, Hilda’s short and lowcut, Marianne’s floor length and backless, striking up easy conversations with patrons at the bar, studiously ignoring Holst’s attempts at fawning over them. Lysithea, drawing a crowd at the slot machines, her strappy dress catching the eyes of more than a few young men passing by, especially when she moved just right, flashing a glimpse of her bare leg under the thigh high slit that made her look older than her nineteen years. Ignatz, with his black suspenders and golden bowtie, dealing like the professional he was at a blackjack table.

Her former students, her current friend, her precious Golden Deer, doing what they did best- dazzling, distracting, carving a path to victory for herself and Claude.

And a single, green haired man sitting at Ignatz’s table.

“It’s time.” Byleth whispered to Claude as they made one final turn around the floor. He nodded, mask slipping into place as they left the floor, the band still singing away in the background.

Byleth tried not to miss Claude’s touch too much. It was time for business.

\----

Seteth Cichol was not an idiot. Many of his underlings within the Garreg Mach Police Department could certainly be classified as such, but he was still sharp as a knife. He knew what it meant to receive an invitation to gamble with the CEO of Riegan Entertainment. He was well aware of the behind the scenes happenings Riegan Entertainment, of Blaiddyd Security, of Hresvelg Holdings. One had to be, when one was the Police Commissioner of Garreg Mach. His critical look as Claude and Byleth approached spoke volumes as to his awareness of the situation- and his desperation for the return of his daughter.

“Welcome to my establishment, Mr. Cichol.” Claude greeted merrily, sliding into the seat next to him. “You remember my assistant, Ms. Eisner.”

“You’re looking much livelier these days, Ms. Eisner.” Seteth said, his voice just barely restraining the bitter edge it tended to take when he spoke to his estranged cousin’s daughter, who had forsaken the family business of law enforcement in order to become an administrative assistant. Although it may have also had something to do with her obvious ties to the Golden Deer- really, they hadn’t hidden that very well at all- but who knew with Seteth. Byleth nodded in greeting, but remained standing behind Claude, her face polite but uninterested in the proceedings she was about to witness.

“Tell me, how is the mayor doing these days?” Claude asked, polite as ever. Seteth’s brow twitched at the question. Certainly the man was not an idiot, but he also was not a great actor.

“Cut the crap, Riegan.” Seteth growled, his hands tightening into fists. “What do you want?”

“Ah, it’s not what I want. Rather, it’s what I have.” He said, motioning for Ignatz to deal him in. The other seats had filled with participants while the two men had been exchanging their attempts at pleasantries.

It was time to play the game.

——

“Your bets?” Ignatz asked.

“Ten.” Seteth said. A slow starter.

“Seven.” Claude said, flashing a winning grin. A lucky number, to some. But a Golden Deer doesn’t believe in luck. The other three players call in their bets.

Ignatz dealed. The first card- a queen- went to Seteth. An eight to Claude. A three, another eight, and a ten to the others. Seteth glances distrustfully at Byleth. She rolled her eyes and took another step back from the table, well out of Claude’s line of sight. 

Ignatz dealed again. A queen to Seteth. His lips twitched into a smile. A three to Claude, bringing him to eleven. The rest got their cards, Ignatz dealing without a single misstep, despite the turmoil Byleth knew to be roiling under his skin. 

“Dealer shows a three.” Ignatz said, flipping his card to show the table a three of hearts. 

“What is it you have Riegan?” Seteth asked. 

“Information. And an offer.” Claude said. 

“Pass.” Seteth waved away Ignatz. “And why would I want your information? I certainly don’t want whatever conditions are attached to your offer.”

“Double down.” Claude said. Ignatz slid him a card, horizontal and face down. “Because I know where they’re keeping your daughter, Mr. Cichol.” 

Bust. Double down. Pass. Seteth froze, his eyes blazing. Ignatz played his hand, a bust. 

“How do you know that?” He whispered, his voice raw. This was no longer the voice of a weary police commissioner, but that of a desperate father who’s daughter had gone missing without a single shred of evidence to point where she had gone.

“We have confirmation that the Eagles have her, Mr. Cichol.” Claude said, putting his cards down to look Seteth in the eyes. “And I’m willing to give you that information. For a price, of course.”

Seteth bristled, his teeth baring like a cornered animal.

“And what’s to stop me from arresting you here and now and taking that information from you.” He snarled. Claude chuckled, leaning back in his seat.

“I think, Mr. Cichol, that you’ll find yourself in a very… uncomfortable situation, let’s call it, if you were to attempt something like that.” Claude said, a sinfully beautiful and cocky grin spreading across his face as he tapped on the pin on his lapel. A golden deer head, with eyes of black. Seteth hesitated, and finally- as he should have done from the beginning- looked around him. Lorenz, Hilda, Marianne, in the other seats. Raphael, looking on. Ignatz, the dealer. Leonie and Lysithea, flanking Byleth on either side. Each of them with their own winking, gleaming, golden deer head with colored eyes. 

The sign of power within the deer. 

Everyone had one, staring down Seteth as the watched him, waiting for his next move. 

Everyone except Byleth, that was. 

Seteth seemed to notice this, confusion flashing in his eyes for a moment before he sighed and pointed to Byleth.

“Fine.” He acquiesced. “But I’ll only deal with her. No one else.”

“One of my men goes with her, or we leave and take our information with us.” Claude said, the threat heavy in his words. Seteth frowned deeply at this, but finally nodded once in agreement. 

“Leonie, with me.” Byleth said, gesturing for her trusted friend. Leonie said nothing, but followed close behind as Byleth turned to lead Seteth to Holst’s office for a private negotiation. Claude caught her wrist as she passed. 

“Have fun.” He told her, grinning rakishly before pressing a sweet kiss to the back of her hand. She huffed a small noise of amusement before leading Seteth off. 

Now it was her turn to play. 

And Byleth  _ always  _ won.

——

Seteth looked viscerally uncomfortable as he sat in the leather chair that Byleth herself had occupied just an hour before. 

“I can’t agree to that.” He said, reaching a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He looked different in the warm yellow light of the office than he had on the casino floor. 

He looked more human. 

“Those are the terms we’re offering, Mr. Cichol.” She told him, steepling her fingers together on top of the desk. 

“Please,” he said quietly, almost desperately, “Don’t call me that.”

Byleth bit her lip, hesitant. It was a heavy breach of protocol but…

“Seteth.” She acquiesced. She pretended not to notice Leonie’s raised brow at her utterance. “You don’t have much of a choice here, you know. Legally speaking. you have nothing that would convince any judge in a hundred mile radius to sign off on a search warrant for a Hresvelg warehouse. You have to know that.”

“I do.” Seteth admitted, the sound of it painful even to her. She almost felt pity for the man.

Almost.

“Let us handle this, Seteth. I know that you and I may not be on the best of terms anymore, but if you ever trusted me at all, then trust me now when I say that I will not let you down.”

“But-”

“Seteth. Every moment you spend debating is another moment longer that Flayn is kept in captivity by the Eagles. So tell me yes, or tell me no, but either way, man up and make the damn decision.” Byleth snapped, her voice icy with barely restrained annoyance. If it was her daughter on the line, her child held by the enemy, then she wouldn’t have hesitated like this. Even if it meant partnering up with a lesser enemy to achieve her goals. And Flayn was not her child, no, but Flayn was family, even before she started dating Ignatz. Distant as they were, Byleth would never forget the first time she had met Flayn, or the kindness the girl had shown her.

“Fine.” Seteth said, his shoulders slumping as he caved. “Ok. You have a deal.”

“Good.” Byleth said, reassuming her facade. “One of ours will be in contact soon.”

Seteth got up from the chair, and Byleth couldn’t help but notice the graying hairs at his temple, the lines around his eyes.

“Get some rest.” She told him, more gently than she had intended. “Flayn is my family. She will be taken care of.”

Seteth nodded, and turned to leave.

“Your mother is long dead,” he said, turning back to look at her, “But she was very special to my sister and I. Please remember that you are our family too.”

Byleth’s vision whited out for a single moment, rage washing through her, ringing in her ears, tingling at the tips of her fingers.

“You and your  _ sister _ ,” she spat at him, “Are the reason I no longer have a family. My parents are dead due to your inaction. Flayn is my family, yes, but not in blood. I have no blood family, not anymore. But do you know what I do have? I have a family of people who actually give a shit about me, Seteth. One I’ve built for myself. And Seteth, I swear, if you or your sister or any of your lackeys do anything to any of them, I will rain down so much hell upon you that it will make the Gronder Park incident look like a schoolyard tussle. Am I understood?”

Seteth looked at her for a long minute, before turning back to the door.

“I must say,” he said, his tone heavy with intent, “That I do find it odd that you consider yourself a member of their family when they haven’t even extended the same to you. You don’t wear their pin, after all. But yes, Byleth, I understand you.”

And with that, Seteth finally left, leaving behind a silent room and sinking feeling in her stomach that Byleth desperately tried to ignore.

——

A knock at the office door shook Byleth from her thoughts. It was late- Leonie had left some hours before. Well, she hadn’t left so much as Byleth made her leave, but what mattered was that Byleth had been alone in Holst’s office for some time, doing her best not to ruminate over Seteth’s words.

Unfortunately, that was a fight she was losing.

She hated that he was right. Despite being in his inner circle- and more recently, in his bed- Claude has yet to offer her a golden deer pin. Try as she might, she couldn’t help but wonder why that was. They were close, weren’t they? In love, even? He had told her he loved her, those many weeks ago. He couldn’t have been lying. He wouldn’t. 

Right?

“By, can I come in?” Claude’s voice called from the other side of the door. 

“Yes, of course.” She called back, rearranging her features to a practiced stillness. Claude entered the room, smiling when he saw her.

That couldn’t be fake, right?

“How did it go?” He asked her, leaning against the wall. 

“Exactly as planned.” She told him, drumming her fingers against the desk. “Even the first name bit.”

Claude snorted and shook his head.

“Too predictable, that man.” He looked Byleth over, his sharp eyes catching on something- some otherwise unnoticeable crack in her mask. “What’s wrong?”

“I have a question for you.” She told him. It was no use lying to him, he knew her entirely too well.

“Boss, the bikes are ready.” Raphael called through the door. Claude sighed, pushing himself off of the wall.

“Can it wait? Your question, that is?” He asked her, excitement shining through in his eyes despite himself. Byleth, weak as ever to the man she loved- for truly, she did love him- could only nod and follow him out of the room.

——

  
  


“Okay, Byleth, intervention time.” 

Byleth looked up from where she was lacing up her boots, confused. In front of her stood Hilda, already dressed and ready for the second half of their adventure that night. Gone was the slinky dress and stilettos. Now, Hilda was dressed for combat- a black turtleneck and jeans covered by a bulletproof vest, jacket, and combat boots. Byleth was wearing much the same herself, with the addition of knee and elbow pads. It was a pleasant change from the surplus of skintight dresses she’d been wearing lately. The dresses were lovely, of course, and had their own kind of power to them, but being back in her combat gear made her feel more centered, more like herself.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She told Hilda, leaning back down to finish tying her boots.

“You came in here looking like your favorite gun broke.” Hilda snorted, cocking a hip. “Something is up, and you can tell me why, or you can let me try to figure it out myself, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll be nice about it.”

Byleth sighed and finished her tying, sitting back up to look at Hilda. The pink haired girl quirked an eyebrow at her, patiently waiting for Byleth to answer.

“Fine.” Byleth said, gesturing for Hilda to take a seat. She did so, sitting on the other end of the plush couch.

Seriously, how upscale did a place have to be to have couches in its bathrooms?

“The truth is Seteth pointed something out to me earlier while we were negotiating and I let it get to me, which is stupid, I know, but it’s happening nonetheless.” Byleth said in a rush, doing her best to fight off the flush of shame in her cheeks. 

“If it’s getting to you like this then it’s not stupid, Byleth.” Hilda said gently, reaching over to take Byleth’s hand in her own. She squeezed reassuringly. “You’re a paragon of strength, yes, but you’re human all the same. So tell me, what did he say to you? Was it cruel? Because if it was then I’m more than willing to-”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Byleth assured Hilda. “He just pointed out that amongst all of the upper management I’m the only one who hasn’t received a pin.”

“A pin?” Hilda asked, her eyes growing wide.

“Ridiculous, right?” Byleth scoffed. But then that growing feeling of dread welled in her chest once more, and try though she might she could not contain it all, could not hold back the words that spilled from her lips and crashed against her tongue like waves against a rocky coast. “But it got me thinking that… that maybe he doesn’t trust me? I thought he did, especially after I swore my allegiance to the Deer, but I was everyone’s teacher once, not just his, and though I hold no love in my heart for anyone but him I could see why-”

“Byleth.” Hilda’s voice cut through her haze, and Byleth realized with a pang of horror that tears were welling in her eyes. Quickly she turned away from her friend and dabbed at them with the edges of her sleeves. “Has Claude not given you a pin?”

“No.” Byleth whispered, her voice hoarse. “I love him, Hilda, and I trust him with everything I am but if he doesn’t feel the same way then I’d rather he just tell me outright, you know?”

Hilda said nothing for many long moments, and when Byleth finally turned to face her once more she saw that Hilda’s face had gone from the warmth of a comforting friend to the cold mask of the Deer’s best extortionist.

“Byleth,” Hilda said, the ice in her voice sending shivers down Byleth’s spine, “I’m going to figure this out, I promise you. There is nobody in this entire organization more deserving of a pin than you. We would all be dead in a hole in the ground many times over if not for you. Claude may be the head of this organization, but you, my dear, are the heart, lungs, and brain.”

Hilda gave Byleth’s hand one last squeeze before standing up, cracking her knuckles as she stretched.

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Hilda said, her voice terrifyingly sweet, “I have to go have a talk with Claude.”

Byleth blanched at the blatant threat.

“Hilda, no.”

“Aw, come on, please?”

“Absolutely not.”

\----

The motorcycles were nondescript at best. All black, unregistered factory models, purchased from a dealer with a reputation for discretion, paid for in cash. They were totally unremarkable, which suited their purpose just fine. The three bikes sailed down the backroads and alleys of the warehouse district, the roars of their engines sounding a war cry into the silent night.

The Golden Deer were coming.

“Beta Team is approaching the rear entrance.” Hilda’s voice crackled in her ear. “Five minutes until landing.”

“Copy, Beta Team.” Byleth responded into her mic, revving her own bike and speeding up, the world blurring around her as she led her team towards the landing site. “Alpha Team is approaching the front. Three minutes until landing.”

“I’m ten minutes out.” Claude’s smooth voice spoke, the sound of it sending shivers down her spine. “Wait for our approach before engaging.”

“Yes, boss.” Hilda confirmed.

“Yes, boss.” Byleth replied as well, the words ringing hollowly in her ears. Before she could say anything more, say something stupid that could jeapordize the mission, she reached up to her helmet and switched off the communicator, signaling to Leonie and Lorenz behind her to match her pace.

They could make it in two.

—— 

Fortunately for the, Ferdinand was guarding the entrance. Of all of the Eagles they could have encountered, he was the most likely to comply with their requests, the most level headed of the bunch. He didn’t react as the three riders approached, instead simply waiting for them to unmask themselves.

If he was surprised by the sight of Byleth, he didn’t show it.

“This is Eagle territory,” he said, his voice steady even as his eyes grew calculating and weary. “What business have you here?”

“Tell Edelgard that the Deer wish to parlay.” Byleth said, flashing her open palms in a gesture of peace. 

“Why couldn’t you have gone through the traditional routes?” Ferdinand asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Ferdinand, don’t act a fool.” Byleth warned him, her voice low and even. “You know why. In fact, I’d wager that the reason we’re here is behind that door you guard.”

Ferdinand said nothing, but tightened his grip on the pistol at his side. Byleth waited, keeping her hands spread in a non threatening gesture. Finally he nodded his once, reaching for the walkie talkie at his side.

“They’re here.” He said into the device.

“We’ll be right out.” Came the dulcet tones of Edelgard Hresvelg. A sudden pang of unease shot through Byleth, tingling at her fingertips before settling heavily in her chest.

Match start.

\---- 

Claude’s car pulled up just as the rest of the Eagle administrative team exited the warehouse.

Minus Bernadetta.

Byleth made a mental note to check in on her tonight.

From behind where she stood came the sound of a slamming car door, and footsteps. Byleth stared steadily onward as Claude strode forward until he stood next to her. She took a step back, but Claude didn’t acknowledge her actions, instead taking a moment to size up the enemy.

“Good evening, Claude.” Edelgard said regally, her white hair impossibly sleek under the moonlight. The sight of it, of Edelgard, so close, but so very far away made the heaviness in Byleth’s chest double.

She wondered if it would crush her entirely.

They had been her students once, Edelgard and Dimitri and Claude. She wondered if her father had known, back then, who they would become as he accepted their applications to his self defense school.

But that didn’t matter now, did it? Her father was dead, shot in the back by a woman on Eagle payroll, left to bleed out in the rain soaked alley behind a convenience store.

The police had done nothing about it. Claimed they couldn’t, that there wasn’t enough evidence, nothing substantial enough for a judge to sign off on a warrant.

So Byleth has struck out on her own, hunting down the killer that had taken her father from her. 

Dimitri has disapproved, told her to let the law handle it.

Edelgard has harbored the woman, turning her back on every act of faith and friendship extended to her by Byleth.

But Claude had gone with her. Handed her the gun. Helped her dispose of the body afterwards. She had sworn herself to his cause that same day. 

Two months later he began to pay her hospital bills after that disastrous attempt to end the war before it began. He kept her alive for those long years, helped her through the physical therapy it took to get her back on her feet and active again. Given her a mission, a sense of purpose.

He had given her hope for the future.

He had become her future.

As Edelgard and Claude exchanged postures and pleasantries Byleth felt something settle within her that Seteth had managed to rile and disturb earlier. She found suddenly that she didn’t quite care if Claude hadn’t given her a pin yet. At the end of the day perhaps he didn’t need to give her something so silly and material. He had already given her more, so much more than anything that could be signified by a pretty piece of jewelry.

She let her gaze slide to him for a moment, his broad back and slicked back hair, standing proud and strong in enemy territory.

And besides, didn’t just signify that she was a Deer. No, it meant more than that. Meant that he owned her, essentially. Owned her work, owned her service. That’s what the emblems traditionally meant, anyways. And something about that had never quite sat right with her. She was Byleth Eisner and she did not want to be owned, not by anyone.

Even the man she loved.

“So tell me, Riegan,” Edelgard’s voice clipped through her musings, drawing her attention back to the situation at hand. “Why have you come to parlay today?”

“You have something of mine, Hresvelg.” Claude responded, his tone even and soft. “And I’d very much like it back.”

“Why, I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Edelgard said. “We have nothing that the Golden Deer could possibly have claim to.”

“Really?” Claude hummed. “Perhaps consider looking again? She’s small, green haired, daughter of a man you hate? It’s easy to overlook her, I understand.”

“Oh, that? But Claude, that’s not yours.” Edelgard tutted. “We checked. No emblems on her. She’s a free agent.”

“A free agent that happens to be related to the mayor, so of course you’d like to keep her for yourself, wouldn’t you Edelgard? Tell me, what is your obsession with her? Is it a trauma thing? A mommy abandoned me thing?” Claude taunted.

“Silence, Riegan.” Edelgard spat, bristling at his words.

“Oh, I know, I bet it’s a sexual thing-”

Hubert moved before Claude could finish his sentence, his gun pointed at Claude. 

“Put that down, Hubert,” Byleth said low and dangerous from between them, her own gun aimed at his face. The man snarled at her, baring his teeth like some sort of wild animal. She blinked. “Fall back, now. You shoot, you die, and then who will protect Edelgard?”

Nobody moved for many long moments.

“How curious,” Hubert spat, not moving from where he stood, “That you remain unclaimed by the man, and yet still would risk your worthless life for him.”

“Hubert, consider this your last warning. Stand down or I consider you breaking the rules of parlay.” Byleth spoke again, letting the taunt wash over her like ripples in a pond. Her voice was louder this time, clear, and it rang through the open lot like a warning. Deer and Eagle alike reacted to her warning, standing at alert, hands moving for weapons. 

“Hubert.” Edelgard finally called, heeling her dog. “Enough.” 

The greasy man hesitated for a moment before putting his gun down, moving to retreat to Edelgard’s side. Before he could turn all the way, he spun around once more, spitting at Byleth.

It hit her chest.

She fired a warning shot.

Hubert howled as he went down, clutching at his shoulder as he collapsed to the pavement. The Eagles reacted, raising their weapons to point at Byleth and Claude.

Edelgard raised a hand, motioning for them to pause.

“You need to keep a better leash on your dog.” Claude hummed, face amused by the situation at hand. “Having a second so prone to misbehavior is bound to bring you trouble some day.”

“What do you want, Riegan?” Edelgard asked again, her voice tight as she watched Hubert bleed onto the pavement.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Hresvelg.” Claude said. “You’re going to give us Flayn. You’re going to scrape your man off of the pavement and leave the area. After all, I’m sure someone heard that gunshot and has reported it to the police by now. I’d give them five, six minutes tops before they get here and you have a lot of explaining to do. I, for one, wouldn’t want to have to explain everything that you have tucked away in that building of yours. Then you’re going to go home and think long and hard about what you want from this little war you stirred up. Money? Power? A dead mayor? Perhaps your dear, former Professor? Because I can assure you that if you continue to aimlessly terrorize and aggravate it will end with you and all of your comrades dead or locked up, and nobody wants that.”

“And if I don’t?” Edelgard asked, cool and collected as usual.

“You lose Myrddin.” Lorenz chimed in from his station by the car. Edelgard’s head whipped to face him. “Hello, Lady Edelgard, remember me? Lorenz Gloucester? My father is a forty percent stakeholder in Myrddin Financial. Largest share in the company by and far. But poor daddy has been feeling  _ so _ under the weather lately.” Lorenz simpered at her, fluttering his lashes. “And if something were to happen to that poor, disgusting, raging homophobe of a man, then, well, all of his assets would fall to me.”

Byleth held her face steady, even though the urge to chuckle at Lorenz’s grandstanding was bubbling in her chest.

Edelgard was quiet as she considered the situation at hand. Myrddin Financial was the biggest stock brokerage firm in Garreg Mach. If they were to publicly withdraw their stakes from Hresvelg Holdings…

“Dorothea, get the girl.” Edelgard said. “Ferdinand, get Hubert off the ground. We’re leaving.”

The Eagles scrambled to do as Edelgard said, and the Deer watched on, motionless until from the warehouse came two figures rather than one.

Flayn ran when she saw them, leaping into Ignatz’s arms.

Byleth watched the two young lovers with an almost wistful feeling as they reconnected, quiet and absorbed in their own world. Flayn looked relatively unharmed to her, but she’d wait until they were safe to give the girl a more thorough check over.

Three large black SUVs pulled up, and the Eagles began loading in, taking bags of Goddess-knows-what with them. Claude motioned for the deer to begin preparations for leaving as well.

“You know,” Edelgard said, her voice calm but sad over the growling of engines coming to life, “If you had chosen me back then I would have properly claimed you by now.”

Claude tensed next to her, and Byleth simply blinked at the statement before responding, her voice strong and clear.

“That’s just it, Edelgard. You would have claimed me. But I am not one to be claimed, not by anyone. I belong to myself, and that is why I chose the Deer.”

Edelgard said nothing, just turned and stepped into her car, closing the door behind her as they drove away into the night.

—— 

“You’re sure that you’re okay?” Byleth asked, poking at Flayn’s cheek. The girl giggled and nodded, squeezing Ignatz’s hand happily.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Byleth nodded and moved to leave the two alone. Marianne has given her seal of approval, but Byleth has felt some need, some instinct, to double check nonetheless.

“Byleth, wait!” Flayn called. Byleth turned back, only to have the breath knocked out of her a Flayn captured her in a hug, squeezing as tightly as she could. The rest of the Deer watched on mirthfully as Byleth Eisner, the stone cold assassin, the Ashen Demon, the scourge of the streets of Garreg Mach, the Goddess of Death incarnate, awkwardly tried to figure out how to return the small woman’s hug.

“Alright, quit hogging my girlfriend.” Claude called, breaking the moment. Flayn laughed and pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek before running back to Ignatz. She was good, Flayn.

Byleth hoped that she’d stay that way.

It was Claude’s turn to pull her into a hug this time, although Byleth slipped comfortably into his arms. The rest of their crew did their best to ignore the two lovers, but Byleth could still feel their eyes, curious and mischievous.

“Remember how you wanted to talk earlier?” Claude asked her. “I was hoping we could do that now?”

Oh right, she had forgotten about that.

Byleth nodded and Claude called for the others to go ahead without them, nodding his head at Byleth’s bike. The two of them made their way over to it, leaning against it as they watched their team disappear from view, one by one.

And then, it was just them, alone together in the night.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Claude asked. “If you’re going to break up with me, I’d appreciate an advanced notice so I don’t cry in front of you like a fool.”

Byleth chuckled and shook her head, reaching her hand out to him. Claude easily took it, bringing it up to his mouth to press a kiss against it.

“Actually, I figured it out.” She said, smiling at him. He hummed, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Well that’s good. Now it’s my turn to ask you something. Come back to my place?”

“Always.”

\---- 

Byleth sat on Claude’s sofa, glass of wine in hand as he showered in his bathroom. She would have joined him, but they had learned that showering together, although sexy in theory, was entirely impractical. Luckily he was a gentleman at heart and let her go first, allowing her as much warm water as she pleased. His electric fireplace crackled in the background, slowly warming the chilly room and drying her own damp hair. Snow had begun falling outside, and as Byleth sunk further into the green upholstered sofa she couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace sink into her.

It was a strange feeling. Strange, but good.

Really good, actually.

Maybe the wine had begun to go to her head, but Byleth suddenly found herself with a wonderful idea.

\---- 

“Sorry that took so long, By, I-”

Claude’s voice stopped short at the sight of Byleth, spread across his couch.

Spread across, legs open, wearing nothing but her stockings. Custom made stocking that she had gotten from Hilda. Luckily for her they were still stored in her go bag. Sheer, thigh high numbers studded with rhinestones that gleamed like stars in the low light of the room. The look he gave her as his eyes took in the sight of her, of what she was wearing, made something in her hum with satisfaction.

“You made me wait.” She told him, her hands teasing her inner thighs, rejoicing in his gobsmacked expression. “So I started without you.”

She shifted slightly, spreading her legs more so that he could watch as she dipped her fingers back inside of herself, wet and wanting. Claude made a strangled noise as he watched her please herself, her voice high and needy as she whimpered at the feeling of him watching her stretch herself out for him.

“By,” he said, his voice thin and strained, “I love this, I really, really do, but I really need to have this talk with you first.”

Byleth sighed and withdrew her fingers with a squelch, meeting Claude’s eyes as she held them out for him. Without hesitation her came forwards, taking them into his mouth as he kneeled next to the couch, cleaning her essence off with a few well practiced swipes of his tongue. She whimpered as he did so, and he had the audacity to wink at her before moving to sit on the couch.

Byleth rearranged herself so that she was sitting upright, her legs closed as Claude watched her.

“So, my love,” she said, poking at his thigh with her foot, “What did you want to speak with me about?”

Claude looked at her and took a deep breath before bringing something out from behind his back. Byleth took the box curiously. She hadn’t noticed that he had been holding anything, so wrapped up in her own pleasure.

The box was decently sized, made of rosewood with a golden, swirling inlay. It almost looked like a jewelry box. Shooting one last glance at Claude, she opened it.

Inside lay a necklace.

Not just any necklace, though.

The golden necklace gleamed in the low light, and the sight of it made her breath catch in her throat. A golden deer’s head, crowned with delicate antlers that swirled into a filigree design, attached to a sturdy golden chain. It was larger, a statement necklace, an antique.

It was the necklace that had belonged to Claude’s mother, all those many years ago.

It was the necklace that belonged to the second in command of the Golden Deer.

Byleth took in a sharp breath, her gaze darting up to Claude.

“I want you to have this.” He told her, his gaze warm and steady and so full of love that for a moment Byleth could almost taste it in the air. “I want you to be my second. I was already going to ask, before we got together. I had a pin made for you and everything. But then  _ we  _ happened and I wanted something… more special. I already wanted you for my second- there’s nobody I trust more to carry on the Deer’s mission and legacy if something were to happen to me. But I wanted something to show you that this- us- isn’t just a passing fancy for me.”

“Claude, are you proposing to me?” She half joked, taking the necklace out of the box. It was solid in her hands, a good weight.

“Mon étoile,” Claude said, gazing at her adoringly still, “Think of this not as a proposal, but as a promise. It’s early yet, I know. Our relationship could fall apart, one of us could be killed in the field. We do not know what tomorrow could bring us. But I swear to you, some day, when we are safer and the time is right, I will buy you a ring, a real ring, not a hand-me-down, and I will ask you to be my wife for real. The truth is, By, I cannot imagine myself- or my life- without you at my side. So this is my promise to you that so long as we both draw breath I will keep moving towards the day when we can set our weapons down and live our lives together.”

“Good.” Byleth said, locking eyes with him so that he could see the joyful tears welling in them. “Now come put this on me, I want to wear it as I make love to you tonight.”

Claude didn’t need to be asked twice, lunging forwards to capture her lips in his own, reaching for the necklace in her hands. His lips were warm and musky with the taste of her still, and Byleth eagerly climbed into his lap as he clasped the necklace around her neck. She leaned back, purposely grinding her hips down on his, relishing the feeling of his hardness beneath her.

“Well?” She asked him, breathless and joyful, arching her back in a way that pushed her breasts up and into his eager face. “How do I look?”

Claude’s eyes trailed from the necklace that sat upon her collarbones to her breasts, rosy and flushed, nipples already straining for his attention, down to her stocking clad thighs.

“You look like a Goddess, mon étoile,” he said, the French nickname sending shivers down her spine, “And I have every intention of worshipping at your alter.”

“I think,” Byleth purred, “That I can live with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mon étoile means 'my star' in French.
> 
> Here's [the necklace](https://www.tanga.com/deals/2bf0238f2b63/antique-gold-color-deer-head-pendant-necklace?gclid=CjwKCAiAjMHwBRAVEiwAzdLWGFHiQN7_GsmMle-YEMzNyyV8_vCg2U0mP91BG-AaMGu1-FTyUCXz_BoCHTQQAvD_BwE)
> 
> Follow me on Twitter


End file.
